Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) Given New $199.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $199.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on LDOS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Leidos from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $153.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Leidos from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Leidos from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Leidos from $165.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Leidos from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Leidos currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.07.

Leidos Price Performance

LDOS opened at $145.75 on Wednesday. Leidos has a 1 year low of $107.73 and a 1 year high of $202.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The aerospace company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.97. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. Leidos had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 30.31%. Leidos’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Leidos will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Leidos’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Leidos’s payout ratio is 18.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.94, for a total transaction of $193,632.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $1,185,095.52. The trade was a 14.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Surya N. Mohapatra sold 2,748 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.97, for a total value of $535,777.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,001 shares in the company, valued at $3,899,594.97. This represents a 12.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LDOS. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Leidos by 1,460.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Leidos in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Leidos in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Leidos during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Leidos during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.12% of the company’s stock.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.